Blog dedicated to helping homeless, and others in need in Central Ohio through knitting, crocheting, and looming.

Mission Statement

Our mission is to warm those in need through knitting, crocheting, looming and quilting. Our NEW hand made items provide hope to those living outdoors and those in temporary shelters. We provide for Men, Women, and Children in Central Ohio all year long. Specific details available by clicking item specific tabs, or the Who we Help Tab. If you have further questions, please contact me via the contact form. ALL DONATIONS MUST INCLUDE A NOTE WITH AN EMAIL ADDRESS.

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Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Shelter Living and the Homeless

A-Z challenge = S=Shelters, slippers, socks, scarves, shawls, Star HouseNo one should have to live like this.Homeless shelters are temporary residences of desperation for homeless people which seek to protect vulnerable populations from the often devastating effects of homelessness while simultaneously reducing the environmental impact on the community. That's the definition we find in wiki. Shelters vary from city to city. Some shelters are very generic, but in recent years shelters have become, or tried to become a bit more select in whom they give shelter too. Some shelters are adult men only, some are single women only, some are family only, and some...though not many are for teens only. There are drop in style shelters where people can pop in for the night and must leave by a certain time in the morning, there are shelters that require certain conditions before letting you in, such as attending a prayer service. Some provide assistance with direction to appropriate social services. Some are community based, others tied to churches, and some are government supported. Regardless of the population and the city, they are not enough shelters to properly serve the growing numbers of those in need.Some Homeless take their chances on the street due to restrictions, lack of space, unsafe or unclean environments at the shelters. And sometimes the homeless person has no physical ability to get to the shelter before it's locked down for the night and is forced to spend the night in the elements. During the cold winter months in the colder states, there simply is not enough space for the need.There are emergency type shelters for runaways or abused women, separate from a bed for the night; but often those in need are unaware of where these emergency shelters are, or how to get to them. And many of the drop in facilities aren't for overnights, just perhaps a place to get warm, use the bathroom, maybe get a shower and figure out where to go next. Drop in facilities for teens are often near college campus areas. Star House for example here in Columbus, Ohio serves kids age 14-24, but is always over crowded. It's located at 1621 N. High Street and has affiliation with The Ohio State University. An old plant on the south side of the city houses young teens with children, but currently only has a 21 bed dorm. Thus you can see the ability to care for all those in need of shelter is huge.We hear at Bridge and Beyond, supply Homeless Families Foundation (a family shelter), Faith Mission (an adult Male and Female Shelter area), Holy Family (a soup kitchen for all), and a handful of school in the affected areas. Additionally we supply 2 grass roots feed the homeless groups, one of the West side of the city and one on the Northeast side of the city. These 2 grassroots areas are people living outside in the elements. We refer to them as The Bridge People.Can you help? We donate hand knit and crocheted scarves, shawls, and slippers and store bought socks. See tabs across the top of the blog for the specifics needed to ensure the donations meet the needs of those we serve.

All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated. The Power of One is awesome, and when we work together The Power of One becomes The Power of Many.

11 comments:

We have a couple here in Newark. One is Emmaus House. It's an emergency 14 bed unit that can house up to 4 families for 30 days. Providing shelter and food. It pretty much gives families in crisis a place to go to regroup and take the initial steps towards self-sufficiency. Family Promise of Northern New Castle County - Wilmington , DE, provides case management, housing assistance and job search assistance. This is awesome if a family is here because someone lost a job and doesn't have any other recourse. Helping find a person a job is key to getting this family back to being self-sufficient.

One place houses only 10 adolescent women who are in their first or second trimester. They give them food, clothing and referrals to appropriate services.

I realize that not everyone is looking for this, nor wants it. They are 'happy' doing what they're doing but, for those that are not, it's nice to know there are places that will help people get back on their feet after crisis.

Thank you for the visit and additional information Bunny, much appreciated. Right you are, it's nice to know there are services and some do choose not to use them; though not the majority. For many, they don't know where to go to get the assistance, and once they do, there is often a wait list.

So true about there not ever being enough shelters for the need. Son's ex girlfriend was homeless for a bit (long story and she could not stay with us, as hard as it was to say no, but again long story), she was able to get into the shelter because she had a young child (not my son's). There were those rules and regulations about time to be there, time to be out in the morning, etc. She didn't like the food or the dorm style of living, but it was a place to stay at night. Thankfully she eventually got off the streets and is doing quite well now and by the grace of God she and son are not together any more (again terribly long story but it was in everyone's best interest that she and her young daughter not come and live with us, but during the time she was on the streets we did help out with what we could; email me if you want to hear the long details of it, LOL)

Yes, those rules and regulations can be very hard on folks, ........as can living with people. I can almost picture your situation...the stories are heartbreaking, but you also have to look out for the good of your family first. And I also know how hard those decisions are. Bless you Betty for you were able to do. Wonderful to know she's back on her feet.

No matter how many times you write about this Sandy, I am still taken surprised by the selfishness of our society in helping the homeless. I am thankful for groups like yours that go the extra mile to help them

I know what you mean Sherry. Each time I come across another story I am taken back. It's so important for us to keep trying and to keep educating people about what's going on and how wide spread the problem is.

As I read your blog posts my heart hurts especially for the families of three homeless men who were murdered in a city close to where I live. All three men frequented the same shelter in the city and were murdered not far from there by the same man on separate occasions. Can the homeless feel a sense of safety? What must that feel like? :(

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Where are You and Your Yarn From?

I'm trying to identify where everyone is from, partially for fun. Take a look at the map. Also, believe it will aid me in cases where we have several people with the same name. Please look at the lists of bloggers and non bloggers and see if I have the state you hail from. If not, please leave a comment and let me know.

Additionally, we've had help from Scotland, England, Germany Puerto Rico, Canada, and France! They don't appear on the map, but their help is still greatly appreciated.